


Sam's Gratitude

by KathyG



Category: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Double Drabble, Education, Gen, No Slash, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-14
Updated: 2015-10-14
Packaged: 2018-04-26 09:19:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4999285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KathyG/pseuds/KathyG
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In this double drabble, Sam gets to thinking about how fortunate he is, because he can read.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sam's Gratitude

**Author's Note:**

> Sam is approaching his tweens, and he’s still receiving an education from Bilbo. (In my head canon, Sam's mother, Bell, is still alive, but the word limit did not allow me to include her as well as Marigold.)

Sam closed his book. As he rested his callused fingertips on its soft leathery cover, he smiled. It had been so good of Mr. Bilbo to give him a book for Yule! _And_ a book about Elves! He had just finished reading it the third time. 

He scanned the room. His gaffer was sitting on a stool across the room, whittling; Marigold was churning the goat’s milk into butter. For a moment, he thought of telling them a story from his book, but thought better of it. 

_They wouldn’t understand,_ Sam thought. _Leastwise, my gaffer wouldn’t. He can’t read. No one ever taught him, or Marigold, either._

Gratitude surged through his heart. _He_ could! Thanks to Mr. Bilbo, he could read and write and do math. He could pick up a book and read it; he could write letters to his brothers who lived so far away; he could calculate the amount of money needed to pay for seeds. And all thanks to Mr. Bilbo, who had taught him all that and told him stories about Elves, too. 

_So many working hobbits don’t never get to learn to read,_ he thought. _My gaffer never did. I’m so thankful_ I _did!_


End file.
